Contribute

Article Index

Tag Cloud

Assessment Coaching Government High School Peer-Tutoring Pedagogy View All Articles Home Schooling Free Programs/Software Commercial Productivity Corporate Training K-8 Commercial Providers Small Private Practices Training/Education TechNotes Test Prep Tutoring Practices Leadership Study Tools Funding Business Practices College Technology Research NTA (National Tutoring Association) Admin/Management Blog Community Crossroads of Learning Academic Learning Centers NCLB Distance Learning

Archives

Journal Information

April 23, 2013

From Seating Arrangements to Crowded Tutoring Sessions, Veterans Returning to School Face Unique Challenges

by Jennifer Davidson, KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, originally published on 3/12/13

(Photo credit: Jim Legans, Jr. via flickr)

Imagine sitting in a college humanities class, and every time a fellow student suddenly raises an arm to ask a question, or accidentally drops a heavy book on the floor, you jump, and your concentration is lost for the hour.  Military veterans, especially those who have seen combat situations, face unique challenges when they try to go back to school. KSMU’s Jennifer Davidson has more.

In the basement of the Garnett Library on the Missouri State University-West Plains campus, a math professor is giving a private tutoring lesson to a young veteran. He’s only recently put down his assault rifle in exchange for a pen and textbooks. Most students get their free tutoring in the lab, on a completely different part of campus—but that communal environment doesn’t always work for veterans.

“It can get overcrowded—just too much static going on,” said Mark White, coordinator of the Veterans Incentive Program here. That program helps vets make the transition back into civilian life as students.

To read more click here.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,College

April 16, 2013

SFU expands tutoring program

By Marelle Reid, originally published in Burnaby Now on 1/30/13

A Simon Fraser University student-tutoring program recently expanded its scope to help more students in the Lower Mainland with literacy skills.

The Friends of Simon program connects university students with immigrant students at 200 elementary schools – and, new for this year, at 65 high schools – in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Surrey. The majority of students are from immigrant families who have recently settled in the Lower Mainland, said coordinator Angela Flumerfelt.

“Immigrant students often come both having to catch up on their literacy skills and their basic academic skills and, at the same time, have to learn English, so it’s a huge challenge for them,” she said. “Sometimes the schools aren’t able to address all of that within the school day.”

More than 80 students from different departments at SFU – about half from the Faculty of Education – spend an average of twice a week with groups of two or three students. Cariboo Hill students in grades 8 and 9 signed up in the fall for the Friends of Simon: Rogers group, sponsored by the Rogers Youth Fund, to get help during after-school hours. Tutors help them with homework and incorporate reading and thinking games that promote English-speaking skills. At Hillside Gardens, a government-subsidized housing complex in Edmonds, tutor Sherry Lin works with elementary school students who need a boost with their English language skills.

The fourth-year human geography major is planning to become a teacher and said the opportunity to gain experience in the community is priceless.

To read more click here.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,College,Community

April 10, 2013

Online Academic Coaching course now available for schools, for-profit providers and individuals

by Nalini Lasiewicz,  Crossroads of Learning

Crossroads of Learning recently launched an online course in Academic Coaching.  The course is self-paced and accessed directly through the internet, taking an estimated 5-7 weeks.  The cost is $209.00, all materials included.  The curriculum is also available in workbook format, to be used in face-to-face training and professional development programs for peer and professional academic coaches, tutors or advisers.  The Academic Coaching workbooks are available to organizations who organize trainings by approved trainers, either internal staff who have completed the Train-the-Trainer program from Crossroads of Learning or certified Master Tutor Trainers from the National Tutoring Association (NTA).

Sandra Clayton-Emmerson of the Center for Academic Success at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York was one of the first to complete the course.  She stated, “I found the training absolutely outstanding! I was introduced to new concepts that were specific to one-on-one coaching.” When asked about her experience with an online learning program, she added, “everything was seamless in terms of how it all went together. The readings with links to outside readings and websites really worked, the assignments following the readings made perfect sense and I was able to reach my mentor anytime I needed to.”

The course helps learning support and academic coaching personnel support the goal-setting, critical thinking, cultural awareness and emotional intelligence development of students, dealing with the entire learning path of being a student. Academic coaching builds on the fundamental skills of tutoring, which is why the Academic Coaching course has a prerequisite of the successful completion of the Crossroads of Learning Tutoring Foundations Basic (or Comprehensive) training level.  A skilled tutor can help a student become a better learner.  A skilled academic coach can help students identify and verbalize the answers to not just academic questions, but about setting and obtaining goals far into the future.


Click here to read more.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,Blog,Coaching,College,Crossroads of Learning,High School,NTA (National Tutoring Association),Small Private Practices,Training/Education

February 10, 2013

Proposed uniforms for tutors spark debate

By Daneille Gamble, News Editor, The Independent Collegian

A hotly debated Student Government resolution was narrowly passed Tuesday night asking the administration to rethink a new dress code policy for student tutors and residence advisers. Under the policy, most student staffers in the Division of Student Affairs would be required to wear khakis or dress pants with a university-provided polo starting at the beginning of next semester.

Joe Ozbolt, senior double majoring in math and physics, brought concerns about the changes to SG Vice President Chris Dykyj on Monday.  Ozbolt, who has been a tutor in the Learning Enhancement Center for about a year, said all of the tutors and RAs he has spoken with are against the dress code.  “One of the good things about working at this job is knowing that you don’t have to wear a uniform,” he said. “It lets students feel like they’re coming to someone for help who’s a friend, not just some guy who works for some company.”

The senate passed the resolution 16 to 10 after a 20-minute debate. Dean of Students Michele Martinez said senior staff started discussing the idea over the summer. She said the student advisory board, a group within Division of Student Affairs that meets with senior staff to discuss ideas and concerns, supported the idea.

Martinez said students mentioned that sometimes when they try to get help in certain offices, it is unclear who workers are because they do not have clear identification. Ozbolt said he has never heard of problems relating to what tutors wear. He said students he asked who use the tutoring center said the measure was unnecessary.

To read more click here.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Filed under: Business Practices,College

December 30, 2012

Tutoring cuts affect students

By Grace Huntsinger, Staff Writer, the Cuestonian, originally published on 10/16/12

Tutoring at Cuesta College has taken a hit in recent years. Hours and manpower in the tutoring center have been steadily declining due to school-wide budget cuts. “The labs have a lot of people. It’s like a class,” second year student Joaquin Mendez said. “There is not a lot individual help. There is one person for the group tutoring.” Mendez is one of many Cuesta students who need extra help in order to pass classes and make progress in a degree. One-on-one tutoring, since for this year it is not offered for any subject, only happens when only one student shows up per session. “I just know that it affected me because I couldn’t take my next class,” said third year Gaby Sepulveda.

Tutoring through Cuesta is offered at no cost to any student who needs it. However, “free” does not always mean “available” or “convenient,” according to Mary Hastings, Cuesta’s Tutorial Services supervisor. Students are only able to sign up for one, 50-minute tutoring session a week. Most of the time there are many students in these group sessions, creating a classroom environment in which some questions may not be addressed due to time restrictions, Mendez said.

Another deterrent for some students is that student demand is the driving force behind the classes that are offered in tutoring. “If I just have one student who wants tutoring for one class, they may not get tutoring,” said Hastings. While this is a process designed to reach the greatest number of students for the greatest amount of tutoring, a significant number of students fall through the system’s cracks because of it, according to Hastings. “I tried to maintain the status quo for as long as possible,” Hastings said. “We are having a paradigm shift in the program.” Many of the shifts within the department have to do with liquidating positions and combining programs in order to streamline the administrative side without affecting the students too much.

To read more click here.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Filed under: Academic Learning Centers,College

Older Posts »
Network

For a free monthly newsletter,

"Best of Journal",

enter your email and click

"subscribe to newsletter"


SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Resources

Crossroads of Learning Copyright 2009